Police probing role of 'betting lobby' in Bangalore stadium blasts

The Karnataka government today said police are investigating whether "betting lobby" is behind the blasts near Chinnaswamy cricket stadium, which led to the shifting of the venue of IPL semi-finals from Bangalore to Mumbai.

"Police are probing this (betting lobby) angle also," Karnataka home minister VS Acharya told reporters in Bangalore.

Acharya said the state government had done its best to convince the IPL authorities about the security arrangements, but they have shifted the venue "for their own reasons".

On April 17, two low-intensity explosions near Chinnaswamy stadium less than an hour before an IPL match, between the home team Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians, left 15 persons including five security men injured and sent nervous crowds running in panic.

Following the blasts, two semi-finals slated for April 21 and 22 have been shifted from here to Mumbai.